Accomplice in 1997 killing of Epsom officer walks away from halfway house

By ALYSSA DANDREA

Concord Monitor

Published: 02-17-2020 9:51 PM

MANCHESTER — Manchester police have issued an arrest warrant for the man convicted as an accomplice in the 1997 murder of an Epsom, N.H., police officer after he absconded from parole.

Kevin Paul, 40, walked away from his sober living house in Manchester a week ago. Paul, who was most recently granted parole in October, had a GPS monitoring bracelet, but it is no longer working and his whereabouts are unknown, police said.

Paul stood by as Gordon Perry shot and killed Epsom Police Officer Jeremy Charron in August 1997, and then shot at police officers as the two tried to escape. Paul pleaded guilty to armed robbery and reckless conduct and testified against Perry, who took a plea bargain that sent him to prison for life without parole.

“(Paul) has been known to have firearms and is considered dangerous,” Manchester police said in a statement Friday.

Paul, a former Concord resident, was initially granted parole in early 2015 after serving 17 years in prison for his role in Charron’s murder. But not long after his release, Paul violated the conditions of his parole in August 2015, and the New Hampshire Parole Board sent him back to prison for 30 days.

The brief sanction was the first in a series of setbacks for Paul. Released that September from the New Hampshire State Prison for Men in Concord, Paul, a convicted felon, soon joined a burglary ring, trading guns for methamphetamine and cash as part of an illegal operation that police say extended into Massachusetts. As a result, Paul was back in prison within two months and facing new felony charges in Hillsborough and Merrimack counties. He ultimately reached a plea deal that resolved many of the charges by late 2016.

Paul once again became eligible for parole last year. Appearing before the New Hampshire Parole Board in September, he told them this time would be different and that his most recent prison sanction had given him a new perspective on life.

“I’m standing before you with a purpose for the first time in my life,” Paul said. “I’m not just asking you to grant me parole so I can just get out and do the right thing, although I am planning on doing that. I have a purpose: It’s real and genuine and I have a motive for it.”

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He said if granted parole, he would make the board “proud of me.”

Paul was released from prison Oct. 14. Less than four months later, police say he is on the run.

Paul is 5 feet, 9 inches tall, weighs 165 pounds and has blue eyes and brown hair. Police said he could be in three cars: a silver 2012 Dodge Avenger with Tennessee license plate 5J27C6, a silver 2005 Honda Accord with Tennessee license plate 7P16D8 or a white 2015 Ford Fusion with Tennessee license plate 1P78E2

Authorities ask anyone with information about Paul’s whereabouts to call Manchester police at 603-668-8711 or the Crimeline at 603-624-4040, where tips can be submitted anonymously.

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